


Reprisal

by Creed Cascade (creedcascade), Echosrevenge



Category: DCU
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-02
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-31 06:55:14
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,907
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1028622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creedcascade/pseuds/Creed%20Cascade, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Echosrevenge/pseuds/Echosrevenge
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bruce ignores Dick one too many times will he lose him?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reprisal

"Bruce, I'm not taking a date. I told you that if you needed to be seen with dates in public I could deal with it, but I'm not doing it do," Dick said with a sigh of exasperation. He couldn't believe Bruce was bringing this up again, in bed, just minutes after they had made love. There had been a rumour that he was gay in some obscure tabloid and now Bruce wanted him to take a date to the annual opera gala.

"I told you I had to keep up appearances when we started this. You know I care about you, but it's too dangerous for people to know about us," Bruce said. He could tell Dick was pissed and he thought it was about Bruce taking a date. He pulled Dick halfway on top of him and tried to calm him down by running his hands over his back.

"Just forget about, Bruce. You don't even know why I'm upset and I'm not going to explain it to you. You take a date. I told you I don't care, but I'm going stag," Dick said. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Night, Bruce."

Bruce knew Dick wasn’t asleep yet and he continued to run his hands over Dick’s body. “You know I won’t sleep with her, right? And if you did bring a date… you won’t sleep with her either, would you?”

"Just drop it and go to sleep, Bruce. You know I'm not going to cheat on you and you know I don't like you taking women on dates. I knew what I was getting into when we started this and I can deal with it. Just stop trying to force me to go on dates and I'll be fine," Dick answered.

Bruce knew Dick was pissed off at him and again he couldn’t quite figure it out. He’d never been good at relationships, but he really did try with Dick even though it never seemed to be the right thing. He knew one thing that would distract Dick was sex and even though they’d just made love, the younger man didn’t take much to get going again. He hand dropped to Dick’s him and he started to kiss his lover’s neck.

Dick lifted his head up and kissed Bruce, letting him dominate the kiss. When they broke for air Dick laid back down half on top of Bruce. "I'll never get to sleep if you keep doing that," he mumbled quietly.

“You know what patrolling does to me,” Bruce growled back and his fingers reached back to tease between Dick’s ass cheeks.

"Which was why we did this fifteen minutes ago," Dick said. "I'm not mad at you and you don't have to fuck me to change the topic. If you want to sleep in with me and have some fun in the morning when I'm not so tired that would be nice though."

Bruce huffed a little, but moved his hands to only rest on Dick’s ass, his fingers no longer questing. “I might sleep in,” he grunted and that was ‘Bruce Talk’ for saying he’d be spending the night with Dick.

 

Dick woke up the next morning and stretched. Despite what he had said the night before, Bruce was already gone. He felt the bed next to himself and realized he hadn't gotten up that long ago. With a muttered curse about inconsiderate boyfriends after he realized there was not even a note he rolled over and started to fall back asleep.

Before he could fell asleep, he heard a heated curse from the hallway that sounded distinctively like Bruce. A few seconds later, Bruce kicked the door open with his foot carrying a breakfast tray. “I made you breakfast,” he said very solemnly and lifted up the tray that contained fruit loops and chunky orange juice. “Alfred has the day off.”

"Breakfast in bed," Dick said with a grin. "I can't complain about that." He kicked of the sheet that he had been sleeping under and moved to the small table near the bed. "But I think I should eat cereal at the table. That way I don't get the bed messy too soon," he said sitting down to eat still naked.

Bruce set it down on the nearby table and again looked questionably at the multi-coloured cereal, then up at Dick. “You like this stuff, right? The box was open.”

"Yes, I like it, Bruce. Now sit down and have some breakfast with me," Dick said pushing the other chair out with his foot. "What do you have planned for today? I'm free until the gala tonight."

Bruce sat down and pushed around the cereal in bowl before reluctantly taking a bite. “I figured we could head out to the Suzuki dealership and test drive the newest models.”

"It's been awhile since we've done that. Sounds like fun and an excuse to wear my leathers," Dick said leering at Bruce. "You going to wear yours too?"

“Yes,” Bruce agreed. He wasn't a very talkative man, even with Dick, but he talked more to Dick than anyone else. "You can ride on the back of the F650CS."

"You know I hate riding on the back. I'll just grab one of the other bikes and follow you," Dick said as he finished up and walked over to the closet still naked. "Where did I put those boots?" he asked out loud while bending over supposedly to look for them. He knew Bruce would be looking at his ass so he threw in a little wiggle while twisting from side to side to look for his boots.

“I like it when you ride on the back,” Bruce said, much closer than he’d been a few seconds ago. He’d crossed the room silently and was standing behind Dick. “I don’t care if anyone sees this time.”

 

"Bruce, you know I don't need another bike," Dick said around his sandwich hours later. They had spent a long time just looking over the bikes and Dick had taken a few out to see how they handled. "I had a great time just playing with them all, and with the amount of money you spend there they don't mind us window shopping sometimes. Thanks for taking me." Dick reached over to grab Bruce's hand while he was talking.

Bruce squeezed Dick’s hand back. “But do you like anything?” Dick really didn’t ask for much and Bruce really did like spoiling him.

"That rebuilt Harley was nice. I might look into getting an old one that I could spend some time restoring. Rebuilding one almost entirely from scratch could be fun," Dick said grinning at Bruce. "Maybe if I was really convincing I could even get you to work on it with me."

“I’m pretty easily convinced,” Bruce said in a very serious tone. “What would… you do?” This was as close as Bruce would get to asking Dick to talk dirty to him.

"Well," Dick said lowering his voice. "First we'd probably have to strip everything off… the bike. Get down to the raw basics you know. And I'm sure we'd need to make sure everything was thoroughly lubricated before we tried fitting any parts in. It's so much easier to take care of things if the lubrication is dealt with first isn't it?" Dick was fighting back a snicker as Bruce's eyes started to glaze over and he waited a second before continuing. "That's why I made sure I took care of the lubrication when I was in the bathroom after we got home." Dick wiggled his ass in his seat to emphasize his point.

“Oh yeah?” Bruce groaned in a hoarse voice. “Why don’t you come here and… prove it.”

Dick smirked at Bruce and stood up. He took off his belt and slowly unbuttoned his pants and pulled his zipper down. He reached over and pushed the food out of the way before pushing Bruce's chair back and standing between his legs. "You want to check and make sure?" he asked bending over the table.

Bruce started to run his hands up and down Dick’s back, then down to his cheeks. One thing he had learned over the years was not to rush a sexual experience. He loved to control every aspect of his life and that included his sex life, even if he couldn’t control his sexuality.

"Gonna have to pull my pants down if you want to check," Dick panted when it looked like Bruce wasn't going to speed up.

“You trying to tell me what to do?” Bruce growled, only half seriously.

"Are you going to growl more if I do? I was making a suggestion, but the growling is nice," Dick said, twisting around to grin at Bruce.

“I scare other people,” Bruce growled again and scowled at Dick, but his hand was still massaging Dick’s ass.

"Well, you can be scary, but I like it. Makes me feel safe." Dick moaned and pushed back into Bruce's hand. "Makes me want you even more."

Bruce undid Dick’s pants and slipped them down. He started to slowly slip his thumb inside of Dick’s already lubed passage. “Say it.”

"Only you, Bruce. Love you," Dick gasped out. He loved when Bruce got possessive.

“You belong to me.” Bruce loved Dick more than anyone else, but he could rarely if ever say it. To him, showing this possessiveness was the closest thing it could come to saying ‘I love you.’

"Please," Dick started to beg when it looked like Bruce was in no hurry to move things along. "I need you."

Bruce was satisfied that Dick had adequately lubed and stretched himself, but he couldn't help but use two fingers into tease Dick’s prostate. He loved to hear Dick beg for it.

"I love you, Bruce, but sometimes you can be flat out evil." Dick's voice now had a hint of a growl in it too. "Do something, please."

“Like to hear you beg,” Bruce whispered in a raspy voice. “I like to know only I can do this to you. I like to know that you need me. Now I’m gonna fuck you so hard you scream.”

Dick kept up a litany quiet begging while Bruce stood up and started undoing his pants. He stopped talking when Bruce started to slowly slide into him. Even when Bruce got a little rough he was always careful to make sure Dick was ready first. One sharp thrust back when Bruce was almost all the way in had Bruce gripping his hips and holding him still.

“This is my show, Dick,” he growled deeply and slammed into Dick again.

Dick didn't answer, but he did relax against the table, letting Bruce control the pace. Bruce had control over himself in this, like everything else, and could make it last almost as long as he wanted. It didn't take long before all he was focused on was the feel of Bruce's cock sliding in and out at the perfect angle and the hands holding him steady.

“I could do this for over an hour,” Bruce warned with cruel fascination. “I could make you cum again and again or… not at all.”

"Whatever you want, but, please, don't stop me from cumming," Dick said. Bruce had threatened that before but never actually gone through with it.

“You do cum so beautifully,” Bruce grunted and slammed into harder.

With Bruce picking up his pace it didn't take long before Dick was screaming as he came all over the table. He had arched off the table as he got closer, but once he came he collapsed against the table still panting.

Bruce leaned in close and whispered in Dick’s ear, “Gonna make you cum again…”

He waited for a full body shiver from Dick before speeding his thrusts back up. Having Dick so willing and laid out over the table like this was pushing him close to the edge, but he knew he could hold out at least until Dick had come one more time.

The gift of maturity and control allowed Bruce to drag it out for several more minutes. It also helped that Dick was eighteen and barely knew the concept of control when it came to sex. Bruce had no problem using Dick’s youth against him in the bedroom.

 

Later that night Dick checked himself out in the mirror one last time. He hated getting dressed up for these formal events, but at least he had learned how to pull it off. He just had to go, make small talk, and dance with a few people. As long as he stayed for at least a few hours Bruce wouldn't care if he left a little early.

Bruce walked into the room and gave Dick a half smile that was for him a beaming grin. “I got a pair of my cuff links you can wear,” he said with a cough. He knew Dick owned several pairs, but he liked Dick wearing his things.

Dick grinned back. "Want me wearing something of yours tonight?" he asked. "Don't worry, I'll be very well behaved with the stream of women who want to dance with me in a vain attempt to get at your money."

Bruce moved forward and tugged at Dick’s sleeve as he started to put in the cuff links that just so happened to be marked with the initials ‘BW’. “That’s because some of them think of you as my adopted son.”

"I know why they think they can get your money through me, Bruce. I was pointing out that I have no interest in those society girls, and, speaking of things I'd like to avoid, how long do I have to stay tonight before I can make a polite escape?" Dick asked.

“I wish you’d stay all night,” Bruce said in a low tone while he undid Dick’s bowtie and retied it to suit his own tastes.

"No way. I know I have to make and appearance at these things, but four or five hours putting up with one of those parties…. I'll just sneak back here and play chess with Alfred while we wait for you to get home," Dick said. "Are we riding together or do you need to go separately to pick up your date?"

“I have to pick up my date,” Bruce admitted, but decided to quickly change the topic. He was still fussing with Dick’s tux and felt partial guilt at his actions. “I need to get you a new tux. Maybe another Armani?”

"NO! No more suits. Having to get fitted for these things is just torture." Dick looked down at his clothes. "I guess I can't get away with riding a motorcycle in this outfit. I'll just take one of cars and meet you there I guess."

“You always like those torn, worn out jeans more than anything else,” Bruce snorted indulgently. Of course, he loved those very same jeans too. Bruce was always touchy feely with Dick in private before he went to one of these public events with a date.

"Maybe you can make the next party a costume party, but now," Dick looked at the clock. "You need to get going if you're going to get there in time to make your entrance." He pushed away from Bruce. "I'll just go pick out a car and say goodbye to Alfred." He tried really hard not to let Bruce's insistence on dating bother him, but sometimes it did annoy him. He wanted a little alone time before he had to face the press and Gotham society.

“I’m coming home to you,” Bruce said gruffly. “You’d know they’re only eye candy for the press.”

"I know," Dick said softly. "See you at the party." He took off to say goodbye to Alfred, knowing Bruce wouldn't try to talk to him in front of Alfred if he actually followed him for once.

 

Dick was currently trying to avoid a local Gothem debutante who was trying oh so hard to seduce him. “I don’t know how you stand living in that spooky old Castle, Richard…” she tittered and laid her hand on his shoulder.

Dick fought the urge to roll his eyes at the vapid blond. "It's got character," he said managing to resist pointing out character was a feature she was sadly lacking.

“But it’s so spooky!” She repeated again with a giggle. “And I remember that old butler from Bruce’s last society Christmas party. Now he was spooky!”

"Excuse me. I just saw someone I need to say hello to," Dick said, smoothly removing her arm from his as he headed toward Barbara. He hadn't thought she was coming, but now that she was here he could use her to keep the women at bay. She didn't know he was gay, but from the way she acted he was sure she suspected it.

Dick came up behind her and whispered in her ear, “Am I having fun yet?”

"Seeing as you're hiding behind me I doubt it," Barbara snickered. "I'm impressed you've kept any of them from leaving claw marks though. How much longer is Bruce making you stay before you sneak out?"

Dick looked at the Rolex Bruce insisted he wear to public events like this and sighed, “Exactly twenty two minutes.”

Dick had managed to avoid the socialites by staying glued to Barbara's side and after a few dances was looking at his watch counting the seconds. He grinned sheepishly when she caught him looking at his watch. "It's not the company, really. I just want to get out of here." He tried to explain.

“Oh, I’m so hurt,” Barbara sighed dramatically and thumped at her chest, then broke out in a broad smile. “If only you were willing to stick around for me. You’d be one man my father wouldn't clean his guns in front of because he doesn’t think you’re good enough for his little girl.”

Dick's response was cut off by the sound of shattering glass. He muffled a curse and looked over at Bruce. They were both on the dance floor and getting out and back into costume was not going to be easy if it was even possible. He counted at least twelve masked goons but no sign of one the flashier villains.

Dick automatically pulled Barbara to safety behind a large potted plant. He wanted to get to Bruce’s side, but he knew he had to protect the innocent here. There would be no time to assume the Robin identity here, so he’d be fighting as Dick Grayson.

Bruce was trying to distract the thugs when he was knocked down and his date was pulled away. Dick started to move toward Bruce but only managed to catch the attention of the thugs himself. He found himself with a gun against his temple and dragged over to stand near Bruce.

“Wayne! We get what we want or your little boy here gets a new hole in his head!” The thug growled and dug the barrel into Dick’s skin.

"You need to tell me what you want first," Bruce said calmly as he got back to his feet. He was casually looking around to see where everyone was positioned.

“We want… wait? What in the hell do we want again?” The thug looked back at the leader of the group for some sort of direction.

"THE BUILDING IS SURROUNDED. IF YOU SURRENDER NOW, NO ONE WILL GET HURT," boomed out over loudspeakers, cutting off whatever the leader had planned to say.

“Shit!” The leader blurted out. “No time now… Kill them all!”

Dick watch as a moment of indecision flashed through Bruce's eyes before he leapt toward the thug that had a gun on his date. Steeling himself, Dick managed to knock the gun at his head to the ground and was subduing the thug when a few shots rang out. He hissed in pain as a bullet shallowly scored his back and in that moment lost his focus on his fight. Before he could recover his head was smashed into the ground. Trying to blink away the throbbing he held the thug down until the cops could take him off his hands.

The thug had managed to get a few solid kicks to Dick’s groin and ribs before two officers pulled the masked man off him. The black material of his tux jacket hid the blood he could feel soaking his shirt from the wound. He stumbled to his feet when Barbara came to his aid and tried to help him. “Dick!”

"I'm fine," he mumbled going to shake his head to try to clear it before realizing that was going to hurt if he tried it right now. He looked over at Bruce who was tending to his sobbing date and started to walk toward them.

Dick’s nearly lost his balance when he got close to Bruce and had to put his hand on his lover’s shoulder to steady himself. Bruce was crouching next to his frantic date with his back turned to Dick. He turned his head and saw Dick, mistaking the touch for a public display of affection he shrugged if off. “I’m busy, Dick.”

"Right, is she okay?" Dick asked, grasping onto the first polite thing he could think to say. He figured he should say something before he stalked off. Wouldn't want Bruce to think he was making a scene.

“She’s have a panic attack and going into shock,” Bruce said curtly. “I have to take care of her.”

"Okay. I'll see you later," Dick said. He was having trouble staying upright as he walked out of the ballroom, but he'd be damned if he was going to let Bruce see he was hurt now. He wasn't sure if it was to make a point or if he was worried that it wouldn't matter.

Dick was more than happy when the Commissioner swept Barbara away, despite her protests. Dick assured her he was fine and managed not to wince in pain until she was out of sight. He knew he couldn't drive home so he took on of the many taxis lined outside and passed out in the back seat after giving the driver the address to Wayne Manor.

When Dick woke up again the cab was outside the manor and Alfred was paying the cabbie. Dick started to get up and realized there was blood on his hand and on the seat. "Alfred, can you give him some money to cover cleaning my blood out of his seat?" he asked with a self-deprecating grin. "I didn’t realize I was bleeding this much."

“Already taken care of,” Alfred said in that monotone voice he used when he was pissed off. He moved his way to the back seat and open the door, already helping Dick to his feet. “I also paid him to keep his mouth shut. Now come along, Master Dick.”

"It's nothing to worry about. Just some goons attacking any concentration of rich people as usual. I'm not even sure where the bullet that hit me came from. I had my head slammed into the floor right after that and everything got a little blurry," Dick said as they walked up to the door.

Alfred made a huffing noise. “And where was Master Bruce?”

"His date went into shock or something. He went to the hospital with her." Dick steadfastly refused to use the names of any of Bruce's dates, but right now he honestly couldn't remember her name.

Alfred could tell that not only was Dick in shock, but he was injured. Even though his back was aching, he managed to get the young man to the closest comfortable and flat surface, which happened to be a couch in the den. “Lay down and let me take a look, young man.”

"I don't think it's very bad. It felt like it just scored the surface," Dick said. His words were muffled with his face in the pillows. "Just stop the bleeding and I'm going to go to sleep after I get a few things out of Bruce's room."

“I’ll move your things into your old room,” Alfred corrected as he pulled off the ruined tux jacket and tossed it onto the floor. He didn’t even question why Dick wanted to move his things. “You’ll be resting.”

Dick remained silent while Alfred quickly cleaned and bandaged the wound. "Don't tell Bruce about this," he said as he stood up. "He didn't notice earlier anyway."

If Master Bruce couldn’t figure out his younger lover was injured, he’d have bigger problems to deal with than Dick sleeping in his old room. He’d have to deal with Alfred. Usually, he chalked Bruce’s mistakes on the fact that he was often adorably thick when it came to dealing with people, but this wasn’t something one could or should brush off. “Let me worry about it.”

"No, I don't want you saying anything to him," Dick insisted. "I don't want him being nice to me because you scared him again. I'm sure we'll talk about it tomorrow after I get some sleep."

The boy should be tired after the painkillers Dick had swallowed them without question. “Fine,” Alfred agreed too easily. He helped Dick to his feet again and they took the elevator to the second floor.

Dick was up early the next morning and feeling a lot better. A good night's sleep had stopped the throbbing in his head and his back was feeling a lot better too. Throwing on a robe he headed down to the kitchen and was just pouring milk on a bowl of cereal when Bruce walked in the back door.

“Just got back from the hospital,” Bruce mumbled. “They needed to give Justine a sedative.”

"You're probably tired then," Dick said evenly. "I'll let Alfred know you're back before I leave to do some shopping."

“You did a good job last night covering Barbara,” Bruce noted and started looking for the special fresh pot of coffee that Alfred always had brewing for him. He had the beans imported from a selected grower in Columbia especially and he liked it so strong no one else would drink it. “That’s what the cops told me at least. Where’s my coffee?”

"Alfred didn't make coffee today, probably because there was no one here to drink it," Dick said as he picked up the paper and started thumbing through it. He was trying to decide how fast he could eat his cereal without it looking obvious that he was in a hurry to leave.

“Alfred always has my coffee ready for me,” Bruce said in a distinctly confused voice. He’d grown up with Alfred being able to meet his needs without ever having to ask in a manner that was spooky to anyone else outside the family.

"Not my problem," Dick muttered. "Hey, we've got tonight off as long as nothing comes up right?"

“Not really,” Bruce shrugged. “We should go out on our regular patrol.”

"Fine, I'll be back before it gets dark," Dick said standing up and putting his bowl in the sink before heading to the garage.

 

They’d patrolled as normal, even though Bruce noticed Dick was moving more slowly and was abnormally quiet. He chalked it up to teenage angst and shrugged it off. He already had a plan to fix things. Sex. They were taking off their suits in the cave when Bruce walked up behind Dick and whispered in his ear, “I want to fuck you over the hood of the Batmobile.”

"I'm going to bed, Bruce, and even if I wasn't, that doesn't sound all that comfortable," Dick said without pausing from changing out of costume.

Bruce didn’t take no for answer. Instead he pressed his body up against Dick’s back and reached around to grasp Dick’s groin under the crotch guard. “I know you like it rough.” He had too much energy to work off and he knew how to play Dick’s body against him.

"I'm serious, Bruce. I'm not interested," Dick said firmly pushing Bruce away from him.

Bruce scowled in confusion. Sure sometimes he had to talk Dick into sex when he was dead tired or drag him away from a new mechanical toy, but Dick had never done this before. “This some kind of new game?”

"No, it's not. Goodnight," Dick said as he headed out the door after pulling on some sweats.

Bruce huffed a little in puzzlement and continued to take off his own uniform. He figured Dick was just in another mood. Hopefully he'd grow out of them in a few years. Bruce took his time going upstairs and decided he’d find Alfred. The man always knew what was going on.

When he got to his study after changing, he looked around in confusion. Alfred almost always had some sort of late night snack waiting for him after he went out as Batman, but there was no sign of any food in the study. After all the years Alfred had worked for him, he knew this plus the lack of coffee in the morning meant he was in trouble for something. "Alfred," he said, finally finding him in the library. "Is something wrong?"

“Did you notice anything, Master Bruce?” Alfred asked without turning around from where he was dusting the books.

"You and Dick seem to be upset with me about something," Bruce said sounding confused. "What's going on?"

“If you don’t know, then I’m not at liberty to say.”

"I'll go ask Dick then," Bruce said. He knew trying to get Alfred to talk was pointless, but he had a feeling that the same thing had gotten both of them upset. He was still trying to decide how to convince Dick to talk to him when he opened his door to an empty bedroom. It just took him a second to realize things were more serious then he'd thought when he saw the few items he'd let Dick put in his room were missing.

Bruce went down the hall to Dick’s old room. Even when he was a young teenager, Bruce wouldn't let him be too far away. He kept Dick’s room intact for appearance’s sake and to give him a place to store all of his things. He didn’t knock on the door, but instead barged right in.

"I told you I was going to bed," Dick said as he half sat up. "Someone turn on the Batsignal?"

“No,” Bruce shook his head. “Why don’t you just tell me what I did wrong so I can say I’m sorry and then you come back to my bed.”

"There's nothing to be sorry about. I thought this was more then us being fuck buddies, but I was wrong. We both had a good time, but I think we should keep our relationship more professional now," Dick said. He wasn't sure if he should lay into Bruce for the previous night or not. He wanted too, but he didn't want to look like he was trying to guilt Bruce into something.

That comment set Bruce off and he was across the room in a second. He grasped Dick’s arm possessively and growled, “What in the hell does that mean?”

"Fuck you, Bruce. Where you get off being all possessive now after you ignored me last night and today," Dick said with a bitter laugh.

“Justine needed someone to watch over her,” Bruce blurted out and tightened his grip on Dick’s arm. “You know how to take care of yourself… or I thought you did. Now you’re acting like a spoiled brat.”

"Yeah, while you're so busy making sure no one saw you even talking to me that you rushed off with your date that was in shock without asking me if I was okay. I told you I didn't mind you having dates for show, but lately you pretend you don't even know me if anyone's around. I guess you thought I'd come home, let Alfred practically drag me out of the cab, pay the cabbie off to cover the bloodstains all over his back seat, and hide in your bedroom where no one would see me?"

"You got the thug's blood on you?"

"Go back to your room, please," Dick said prying Bruce's hand off his arm. "I don't want to talk about this anymore right now. Just… we can go back to the way we were."

Bruce saw Dick wince when he moved swiftly and then realized that the younger man was hurt. His hand came up and grabbed the front of Dick’s t-shirt. “You’re hurt. Let me see.”

"It's taken care of," he said through gritted teeth.

“Take your shirt off,” Bruce said in a commanding voice. “Now.”

"Get out of my bedroom, Bruce. If you can't give me privacy in my own room I'll move out tomorrow," Dick said. He didn't trust himself to let Bruce start to undress him for any reason.

“Dick…” Bruce growled in the low menacing tone that never failed to turn him on or get whatever Bruce wanted.

"God, what the fuck do I have to do to get you to leave me alone? This isn't some game and I'm not mad at you. At least I wasn't until you decide to come in here and manhandle me," Dick shouted. "It's over."

Bruce let go of Dick’s shirt and without another word he turned on his heels, leaving the room.

"God damn it," Dick whispered after the door closed. "I guess I was right. Couldn't even say you loved me let alone that you were sorry." Trying not to think anymore, he closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep.

 

Bruce was laying into the punching bag like there was no tomorrow. He hadn’t bothered to tape his fingers when he went to the exercise room straight from Dick’s room. He just started punching the bag and now his knuckles were bloody and raw.

"Master Bruce," Alfred said during a lull in the punching. "I believe you've spent long enough punching that thing."

“Not done,” Bruce grunted and started in on another round on the punching bag.

"If I may say so, that's not going to solve your problems," Alfred said stepping closer. "You need to decide what you want to do, not get angry and beat your fists bloody."

“I’m not a child anymore, Alfred,” Bruce said sullenly. “And they’re not that bad.”

"I take it you've talked to Master Richard then?"

“Yes. He’s leaving me.”

"You let him down and hurt him, but he's not leaving, Bruce. If you can be what he needs I don't think he'll ever leave," Alfred said. "But you'll have to convince him to trust you again… if you want to."

“I told you I never should have gotten into this relationship,” Bruce said in a low brooding tone. “I’m not good at relationships.”

"Then learn to be good at them. He does love you, but he won't wait forever," Alfred said. He walked out of the room when he didn't get an answer. He just hoped that for once Bruce would listen to him.

 

Bruce had been spending most of the day and into the evenings at the office. He did come home to patrol, but then went straight to bed. He didn’t even try to approach Dick for sex. When Dick had said it was over in the heat of the moment, he had expected Bruce to fight it at least a little bit. So if Bruce threw himself into work, Dick threw himself into his other passion, which at the moment happened to be restoring a 1969 Charger.

When Dick went in to get a few more parts for the Charger he ran into Robert again. He had been politely been brushing him off but after being all but ignored by Bruce for over a week he was tired of hanging around the mansion by himself. This time when Robert smiled at him and offered to come over and help install the new alternator he smiled back and asked when he got off work.

So that’s how he ended up leaning over the engine of the car with Robert pressed up lightly against his back. One of his hands was resting lightly on his hip as he spoke over Dick’s shoulder. “You got a real impressive engine here, Dick.”

"You don't stop teasing do you," Dick said with a chuckle as finished fitting the alternator onto its mount. "Persistence should be rewarded don't you think?"

“Oh yeah,” Robert agree vehemently. “What did you have in mind?”

"Maybe, just going to a club or something. I just got out of a relationship and could go for a night out with a friend if you're up for that," Dick said ,still bent over the car so he didn't have to look at Robert's face while he suggested a night out.

“I definitely up for something,” Robert said and managed to keep from laughing. “Cheesy line, huh?”

"Yeah, it was," Dick said, laughing as he straightened up. "Just friends going out though, right? I'm not ready for something serious."

“I wouldn't mind it becoming something more serious,” Robert admitted with a quick pat on Dick’s hip, but then he stepped away. “You’re cute, but just being friends for now would be cool, too.”

"It's already close to seven. You just want to borrow some of my clothes and we can take the Vette out. I can drop you off at home when we're done and save you a cab fare home," Dick said. While he was talking he started putting away the tools they had been using.

“You sure your old man won’t mind?” Robert asked as he wiped his greasy hands on his shirt and then pulled it off. “He okay with you being gay?”

"Me being gay isn't a problem," Dick said neatly sidestepping the issue. He honestly wasn't sure if Bruce would even care if he went out on a date. His eyes quickly scanned Robert's chest. He was cute and fun to hang out with. If he ever got over Bruce there could be potential here. "Come on up to my room. We're close to the same size so we can find something of mine that will fit."

Robert tucked his shirt into his back pocket. “That’ll work.” Robert looked around the mansion and whistled. “Bet this place is dust trap. Guess it’s like living in a really cool museum.”

"It was definitely a change from growing up in a circus," Dick said leading him to the stairs to the second floor. He heard Bruce come in while they were on the stairs but didn't turn around. He really didn't want to find out if Bruce didn't care or was going to get pissed off. "There's another bathroom in the bedroom next to mine. We should probably shower before we pick out clothes."

“Hey, maybe sometime you could show me some of those… moves you learned in the circus,” Robert smirked with a definite leer at Dick’s ass.

While the boys were showering, Bruce hunted down Alfred. "Who was that," he almost growled once he found him.

“I believe his name is Robert, but I’ve also heard Master Dick call him Robbie,” Alfred supplied.

"He's been around here before?" Bruce asked while pacing back and forth.

“I believe so. The boys work on cars together.”

"He's one of the mechanics at the garage Dick's always buying stuff from isn't he?" Bruce said with a hint of recognition. "How long has this been going on?"

“Master Dick has been restoring that particular car for a few weeks now.”

"Well I can see you were wrong. From the length of time it took him to decide to find someone else he wasn't in love with me," Bruce snarled. "I'm going to train."

Alfred didn’t stop cutting up the tomatoes he was dicing as he spoke. “Did it ever occur to you that he might be lonely?”

"He's the one who left me remember."

Between chops, Alfred asked, “And you’re completely faultless?”

"He knew what he was getting into when he we started seeing each other. I guess he just decided I wasn't worth it," Bruce said.

“You know…” Alfred hesitated and gave Bruce a look. It was the one Bruce used to call his ‘Father look’ when he was younger. “I never thought you’d find anyone to share you life at all.”

With the time Bruce had spent stomping around and long gaps between speech in their conversation more time had passed then they realized. Bruce's head whipped around when he heard someone in the doorway and saw Dick and the mechanic both dressed tight jeans and t-shirts looking like they'd both just gotten out of the shower.

"Um, just wanted to let Alfred know I was going out. I'll be back later tonight. I've got my pager," Dick stammered out without meeting Bruce's eyes.

“You don’t have to worry about me taking your son out, Mr. Wayne,” Robert said. “He’s in good hands.”

"Have a good time, Master Richard," Alfred said when it was clear that Bruce was not going to answer. "Next time you bring Master Robert over invite him to stay for dinner."

“That would be cool,” Robert answered before Dick could. “And like I said, you don’t have to worry about Dick, Mr. Wayne. I won’t be such a bastard like his last boyfriend. We’re taking it nice and slow…” He stopped when he saw Bruce’s expression darken. “Too much information, huh? Yeah, I guess my old man would get the heebie jeebies if I talked about the men I was dating. Sorry, man.”

"Robbie, I did not say my last boyfriend was a bastard," Dick hissed as he felt his face flush. "I didn't say anything close to that." He raised his voice for the last statement to make sure Bruce heard him. He really didn't want Bruce think he was badmouthing him behind his back.

“Well, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out the guy had to be a bastard and pretty damn thick if he let you out,” Robert snorted and then laid his hand on Dick’s hip. “Hey, it’s okay. Even if we just stay friends, you’ll find someone to treat you right. Besides you’re a hottie, won’t be a problem to get a guy.”

"Okay, we're going to go now," Dick said as he grabbed Robert's arm and started pulling him toward the door. Bruce was not looking happy and he wanted to get Robert out of there before things got messy.

“Okay, okay… coming already,” Robert laughed and then turned before they were out of the room. “It was nice meeting you Mr. W. Hope to see you around a lot!”

"I don't like him," Bruce growled to Alfred as soon as they were out of earshot. "He actually called me a bastard in my own home."

“He thinks you’re Dick’s father,” Alfred pointed out. “You didn’t correct him.”

"I need to go for a drive. I won't be here for dinner," Bruce said. "Contact me if Batman is needed."

 

They had a great time at the club and even though Dick had asked them to just remained friends, things had progressed more quickly. They started dancing with the other young men in a group, but then the slow songs had come on and they’d ended up dancing together. Robert had touched Dick a lot, but he hadn’t tried to make a real move until they were in the car on the way home when he reached out and grabbed Dick’s hand.

"I had a good time tonight, Dick," he said. "I'd like to do this again soon, if you want to."

“That would be… nice,” Dick said and smiled at Robert. Robert for his part leaned over and kissed Dick lightly on the lips.

Dick leaned into the kiss briefly before pulling back. "I don't want to hurt you, Robert. I'm not ready to start something serious now," he said regretfully. "It's not fair to you when I'm still not sure it's over with my last boyfriend."

“I think you’re someone I’m more than willing to wait for,” Robert whispered and caressed Dick’s cheek with his hand. “Besides, we’re too young to worry about anything too serious. It’s not like I’m some possessive, old bastard…”

Dick felt a moment of panic when he wondered if Robert had figured out who his ex was then he decided it must have just been a random comment. "I like spending time with you. As long as you're okay with knowing this might never go beyond friendship, I'd like to get together again. Maybe we could go to the lake house for the day this weekend. I haven't been out on the boat in a while."

“That’s too bad. Guess it’s tough not having a lot of family, huh?” Robert said. “Your dad… Bruce, whatever you call him, not spend that much time with you? I mean, I know you’re adopted…”

"Bruce and Al have both been great ever since I got here," Dick said as they pulled up in front of Robert's apartment. He squeezed Robert's hand. "I'll give you a call tomorrow if the lake is going to work this weekend, okay?"

“Sure thing…” Robert agreed and after he got out of car, he leaned into the window. “You own a speedo, Dick?”

"We'll see," Dick chuckled as he drove away.

 

Bruce wasn’t stalking Dick. No, it’s couldn’t be stalking when it was own property he told himself. So what if he was watching Dick romp around the lake with that… boy. Dick was wearing a red Speedo… a very small red Speedo that he’d never seen before. Bruce wanted to go over there and tear Dick away from the little bastard. He’d had a security check run on this Robert and even though nothing other than a speeding ticket had come up, he was sure the kid was no good. He was especially no good for Dick. Dick needed someone stable who could appreciate him, not some… punk.

But as he watched the boys roughing housing around, splashing in the water, he had to admit Robert spent a lot of time with Dick and it wasn’t just to get laid. He knew that because he’d been watching when he was supposedly at the office. He knew he was obsessed and it was creepy, but he couldn’t just leave Dick alone, even though that’s what the younger man wanted. He’d learned something about himself watching the two together even though he didn’t like it. The boys had been coming to boathouse since the first time all those weeks ago. The truth was Robert treated Dick better than he had.

With a sigh he turned around to head back to the manor. He was pretty sure from his spying that the two of them had not gone beyond a few kisses and that was giving him hope. The only reason Dick would be waiting was if he was still hoping Bruce would come around. On the drive back he decided to try to show Dick that he could be as good to him as Robert could. He was still trying to figure out exactly what to do as he walked into the manor hunting for Alfred.

“I’m in the training room, Master Bruce,” Alfred informed him over the speaker system in the spooky way of his.

"I'll be there in a minute," Bruce said as he headed for the training room. He remembered the one time he had actually checked the house for hidden cameras and bugs after Alfred was asleep. After finding nothing, he'd finally decided that Alfred just had some sort of sixth sense.

“I was just cleaning the training room,” Alfred said something was painfully clear, but sometimes, things had to be damn obvious for Bruce to understand. “I thought perhaps you and Master Dick might want to start training more together.”

"That would be a good idea," Bruce said hesitantly. "I want… I want to find some way to show him if he give me another chance I can be different and that might be a start."

“Indeed, sir,” Alfred agreed as if Bruce had come up with the idea himself. “Perhaps I suggest that spending more time with him is more appropriate than buying him anything.”

"Maybe you have some other ideas?" Bruce asked. He knew what he wanted to show Dick but he wasn't sure how to go about it without seeming like he was trying to force Robert out. He did want Robert gone, but he knew Dick wouldn't respond well to him just trying to get rid of him.

“You helping Master Dick with his car…” Alfred suggested. “He’s rather fond of it. And remember the little things your parents did for each other? Your father always used to try cooking for her.”

"I'll try that. Maybe take him shopping, too. See if he wants to help me pick out some clothes that way I'll know he likes them," Bruce said.

Alfred sighed heavily. Bruce really was thick. “Master Bruce… I told you to think about what you parents would do,” Alfred scolded. “Money cannot buy forgiveness. No wonder I thought you never find anyone to put up with you. I nearly gave up hope until Master Dick became of age and decided not to let you scare him away.”

"I wasn't going to do it to buy him things," Bruce said almost petulantly. "I just thought he'd like being able to help me pick out clothes. My parents did that for each other."

“Your father never did know how to dress himself,” Alfred admitted and dusted some throwing knives. “Maybe Master Dick could talk you into buying something other than black.”

 

"Al, is Bruce sick or something?" Dick asked a few days later when he was able to corner Alfred alone. "He's been really nice lately with the extra training and the help on the car. I mean he's even been polite to Robert, and now he wants me to go shopping with him. Which wasn't that strange until he mentioned me helping him pick out some clothes… for himself."

“Get him something with colour,” Alfred said simply. “He used to wear a lot of red when he was a child.”

"Okay… not exactly what I was asking, but I'm guessing that was your way of telling me to go shopping with him?" Dick asked, still confused.

“I think it would be a good idea,” Alfred nodded. “That is unless you have plans with your… friend.”

"No, Bruce was careful to make sure it wouldn't interfere with any of my plans. I think Robert is starting to get tired of waiting for me to be ready to try a relationship anyway. We still have fun together, but he's not pushing to see me all the time like he was before," Dick said.

“Does that bother you or do you want to find another boyfriend?”

"You know I want Bruce back, Al. If it wasn't for that I'd be with Robert now. He's really nice, and a lot of fun to be with. I guess I'm just going to do without the boyfriend thing until I get over Bruce, however long that takes," Dick said.

Alfred sighed, “I always thought you were a tad to young for your relationship with Bruce to start. Maybe if he had waited a few more years before you were ready to settle down…”

"I don't think it would have made a difference. I just needed more out of it then he wants to give, and I doubt time would change his habits," Dick said. "Maybe it was better for me to figure out that we weren't going to work before I spent too much time waiting for him."

“I think it’s time I told you something about, Master Bruce,” Alfred said in a low whisper and leaned in close. “He’s a thick headed, asshole with so many emotional problems I never thought he could keep someone around. That and he has a horrible track record with women.”

"Thanks," Dick chuckled. "I think I'd already figured all that out on my own, but he does have his good qualities too."

“Such as he loves you more than life itself, but doesn’t know how to show it or not screw it up?” Alfred offered with a small smile.

"I'm not sure about that, and if it was true I wouldn't expect him to be perfect. I just couldn't deal with him treating me like he didn't even know me when we were together. Even if he is embarrassed by the fact that he's attracted to me, he didn't have to act like he did."

Alfred decided that it was time for Dick to learn more about Bruce’s past. “Do you know about much Bruce’s parents?”

"I know what you told me after I got here, and what I read in old papers a few years after that," Dick said. It seemed like a strange jump for the conversation to take, and he was wondering where Alfred was going with it.

“Master Bruce’s parents died when he was quite young,” Alfred explained. “He won’t talk about them much as you already know. He was young enough that he idolized them, but Mr. Wayne Senior was only human. He had faults… some rather big.”

"Are you saying Bruce is ashamed to be with me because his dad wouldn't have approved?"

“Maybe not consciously,” Alfred admitted. “But his father was very adamant about Master Bruce carrying on the family line. Bruce wasn’t the most… masculine child. His father tried to remedy that.”

"Do you think he'd ever be able to get past that?" Dick asked. "I mean I guess I can understand why he acted that way a little better now. Still don't like it."

“I’ve heard it say that people can’t change,” Alfred said and laid a hand on Dick’s shoulder. “I don’t believe it. Did you know he asked me if you can make anything out of Fruit Loops the other day?”

Dick snickered at that. Imagining Bruce trying to cook was funny enough, but trying to cook something made of fruit loops…. "Okay, okay, I'll go shopping with him and maybe figure out what he is up to."

“Just be patient with him,” Alfred smiled gently. “And promise me you won’t eat anything he cooks just yet, even if he thinks your favourite food is Fruit Loops.”

"Just tell him he's not allowed to cook, Al. You know he won't do anything in the kitchen if you tell him not to," Dick said. "Thanks for talking to me about this." He gave Al a hug before starting for the garage to get a little work done.

About an hour later, Bruce came into the house carrying a small brown bag with him. “Alfred, where’s Dick?” He didn’t insult Alfred by asking if he knew where he was, because Alfred always knew.

"I believe he's in the garage, Master Bruce," Alfred said. "Dare I ask what you have in the bag?"

“I know I wasn’t supposed to buy him anything,” Bruce hesitated and gave Alfred a wary smile, “But really, it wasn’t that expensive and I thought he’d like it. I got him a knob.”

"A knob…." Alfred raised one questioning eyebrow with a smile dancing at the edges of his mouth.

“Yes, a knob,” Bruce tried to stay dignified. “For the stick shift in his Charger.”

"I'm sure Master Richard with be most pleased with that gift," Alfred said. "In fact he seems to be quite pleased with your actions lately."

“Do you really think so?” Bruce asked. He really had been trying hard to win Dick back slowly. He was now willing to wait years if he had to, even though he didn’t like that prospect at all. But if Dick needed to sow his wild oats and meet other people before he came back to him, then he would have to live with that.

"Yes, but don't try to rush things yet. I don't think he yet trusts you enough yet, but if you can show him you will treat him like this from now on there is hope." Alfred kept most of the amusement out of his voice as he added. "Now go give him the knob you found for him."

“I’m not a kid anymore, Alfred,” Bruce sighed and then added with a sulky tone. “And it’s a very beautiful knob, I’ll have you know. Custom made.”

"No, a child would not have tried to pass off a hand carved knob he'd commissioned a week ago off as a cheap trinket," Alfred said, now openly smiling and made shooing motions. "Now stop interrupting me and go give it to him. I'm sure he will like it."

Bruce turned before he left the kitchen, “Well, it is cheap when you compare to the other things I buy.”

Dick was under his car just checking the brake pads when he heard someone come into the garage. One quick look at the shoes he could see under the car let him know it was Bruce. "You're home early today, Bruce," he said from under the car. "Everything okay?"

“Yes, nothing serious,” Bruce said quickly. “You don’t have to stop what you’re doing. I just… I just think I’ll stay here and watch you work.”

"Not that exciting," Dick said. He didn't realize just how much he was wiggling to get from the front to the rear wheel. "You mind passing me a clean rag though? I need to wipe this down."

Bruce could see that Dick was wearing a tight pair of jeans that were tight in all the right places in that position. In fact, his mind was flashing very obscene things he could do to Dick on that trolley and felt his cock start to respond. It had been weeks since he’d had sex. He quickly grabbed a nearby rag and crouched down to hand it to Dick. “Here.”

"Thanks," Dick said as he slid out from under the car enough to flash Bruce a quick grin. "You know, I don't have any plans for tonight if you wanted to go shopping now. Well after I finish this and clean up."

Bruce had to adjust himself as he stood, hoping it was discreet enough for Dick not to notice. “That would nice. I… ahhh, got you something.”

Dick took in the brown paper bag and was immediately curious. It didn't look like the usual gifts Bruce got him. "What is it?" he asked as he reached his hand out for the bag.

“It’s a knob,” Bruce said with a straight face. He was taking his gift very seriously. “And I tried to get Dick put on it, but the artisan wouldn’t do that. He said it was obscene.”

"Wow, Bruce, I love it," Dick said. Once he'd opened the bag and seen the mahogany knob for his gearshift with the 'RG' inlaid on it with a lighter wood, his amusement at Bruce's comment faded. "It's perfect, thank you."

“It’s for the Charger,” Bruce said, saying something that was rather obvious. “I wanted to help.”

"You want to put it on for me while I finish under here? I'm too dirty to get inside the car right now. Then I can get ready to head to wherever it is you want to shop," Dick said before he slid back under the car.

Bruce rolled up his sleeved, grabbed a screwdriver and set to work installing the new part on the shifter. “Maybe we should get one for the Batmobile,” he said after awhile in a dry attempt at Bruce Wayne humour.

"Naw," Dick called out from under the car. "No one would see that one, and wood doesn't exactly match the Batmobile." He finished the last brake pad and stood up, wiping his hands off while he watched Bruce. "I'm going to go take a shower. You want to get some food in town? I'll tell Alfred not to make dinner if you do."

"We could go out," Bruce agreed, trying not to sound like he jumped on the opportunity.

"Some place casual though," Dick called over his shoulder. "I'm not getting dressed up to go shopping."

“I’m not doing fast food…” Bruce called out automatically and then realized that might mean Dick might change his mind. “Unless you want to, of course.”

 

After a relaxed dinner at California Pizza Kitchen they headed on to a one of the more upscale malls in Gothem. It was actually one that Wayne Industries owned so they got more attention from the shop owner then normal even for them. Dick was actually having fun trying to convince Bruce to go for a more relaxed look. He finally found the perfect shade of red and turned around to hold the shirt up for Bruce to see.

“Does it come in black?” Bruce deadpanned.

"No, but I'm sure if I keep looking I can find one in orange," Dick said handing it and a pair of jeans to Bruce. "You want me to see if I can find an orange one while you're trying these on?"

“Orange?” Bruce looked at Dick sombrely. “How about a nice navy blue?”

"Maybe I could ask if they have something with orange and purple stripes," Dick mused while pretending to ignore Bruce. This was the most fun he'd had with Bruce in weeks and he didn't know if he'd ever been able to tease him like this.

“They make those?” Bruce grumbled and then turned towards the changing rooms. “I’ll just try the red one on.”

"Nice," Dick said when Bruce came out of the dressing room trying to avoid attention. "I knew that would look good on you. Now we need to find you something a little flashier in case you ever decide to check out one of your clubs when they're open."

“I don’t go to clubs,” Bruce said seriously. “Besides, I usually just wear whatever Alfred lays out for me.”

"Maybe someone should drag you out to a club sometime. We'll find you something to wear just in case. It's not like you need more dark suits for your closet anyway," Dick said. He was already wondering just what he could get Bruce to wear while he was in a good mood.

Dick went off briefly to riffle through the suit section, leaving Bruce to stand their, holding the red shirt Dick had already decided he’d buy. Bruce sighed heavily and an older man beside him laughed gently, “Ahhh, young love. It doesn’t get any better son. My wife still dresses me, so get used to it.”

"I think he's enjoying it a little too much," Bruce said absently as he watched Dick pull out a dark metallic shirt that looked about two sizes smaller then what he normally wore.

The older man looked at Bruce attire and then his smile widened. “No offence, I’m not from around here… maybe it’s the mortician style in Gotham, but it looks like you could use the help.”

"Dick, did you pay this gentleman to convince me I needed get something with more colour?" Bruce asked as Dick walked back with the shirt he'd been looking at and a pair of pants that looked way too small too. He wasn't sure he'd even be able to walk out of the dressing room in those clothes.

“No Bruce, he just has good taste,” Dick laughed. “Now try this stuff on.”

"You should just give in," the man stage whispered with a wink at Dick. "Trust someone who's been married for as long as I have, don't argue over clothes."

“I’m learning,” Bruce said with a small smile. “I’m told I’m quite thick.”

Dick stared at Bruce in shock as he grabbed the clothes and went to try on the clothes. With a nod to the man Bruce had been talking to, he moved over near the dressing rooms trying to decide if Bruce had realized what he'd said.

“You don’t have to follow me,” Bruce said through the door. “I’ll try them on and buy them is you think it’s best.”

"Wasn't sure if you'd come out of the dressing room if I wasn't here to convince you to let me see," Dick answered.

“They’re obscene,” was the quiet response.

"Let me judge that. Just come out here while no one's around and let me see," Dick said. "I need to see if they're too big." Dick was surprised he managed to keep his voice steady as he'd said that. He knew that there was no way Bruce would fit in a smaller size, but he could imagine the look on his face.

There was a moment of silence that was finally broke by the creaking of door opening. Bruce looked left and right before he stepped out. “They were so tight I had to take off my boxers,” Bruce grumbled.

Dick unconsciously licked his lips as Bruce walked out. He was right, without any underwear the pants were obscene, and the shirt fit like a second skin too. The lights reflecting off the metallic threads highlighted the muscles that packed his frame. He knew he should say something, but he couldn't quite get anything out.

“I knew they were bad,” Bruce mattered and shifted from foot to foot. “I look foolish.”

"No, not foolish at all," Dick finally said. "You are definitely getting those. We just need to find you something other then boxers to wear under them so you don't get arrested for going out in public." He still hadn't raised his eyes up to look at Bruce's face. He knew if he did he'd start blushing. Plus, the view he had now was nice.

“Bruce Wayne does not wear a thong. If I get them, I’ll just wear them like this.”

"We can find you something other then a thong, but you're not wearing those out of the house like that." Dick finally looked up at Bruce and bit back a curse as he blushed.

Bruce wasn’t sure why he said what he did next. “I could always just wear them around the house like this then…”

"Go. Change. We'll shop more," Dick choked out as he looked down and then blushed even harder when he realized just what his eyes had fixed on.

“Maybe I’ll buy two pairs…” Bruce smiled knowingly at Dick and turned back into the dressing room.

"He's flirting with me," Dick said under his breath after Bruce was back inside the dressing room. He shook his head and tried to distract himself from thought of Bruce in that outfit by looking for a pair of boots that would go with it.

 

Bruce couldn’t believe he was doing this… he was actually cooking. Of course, Alfred wasn’t going to find out until after he got in from his night off in the city at an antique auction, but that made it all the more secretive. He was wearing his new red shirt for the first time and decided the apron he was wearing was a good idea even though it couldn’t be that hard to boil spaghetti and open a jar of sauce.

"Hey, Bruce…." Dick's voice trailed off as he walked all the way into the kitchen and saw what Bruce was doing and what he was wearing. "What's going on?"

“Ahhh,” Bruce faltered for a moment and then coughed. “I’m cooking.”

"Does Alfred know?" Dick asked as he moved around Bruce to peek at the noodles. "Looks good. What the occasion?"

“What Alfred doesn’t know won’t kill him,” Bruce said and poked at the spaghetti a fork. “And there’s no special occasion… Alfred’s gone for the night and we needed to eat.”

"Okay, not that I don't appreciated this, but what's going on?" Dick asked, leaning against the counter. Bruce had been driving him crazy the last few days, in a good way, and he wanted to hear him say what he was up to.

“You said you where free tonight,” Bruce said. “You’re home… I’m home. I wanted to cook for you. It’s spaghetti.”

"Bruce, that's not what I was talking about," Dick said. "It almost seems like you're flirting with me lately. Which is not a bad thing necessarily, if that is what you are doing."

Bruce nearly dropped the jar of spaghetti. He really didn’t think he was being that obvious. “I flirt?”

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I've been having a good time, but I'm not sure what's going on here, and the fact that you would risk Alfred's wrath to make me dinner just brings up more questions," Dick said with a smile playing around his lips.

“I wanted to make you smile,” Bruce blurted out with a confused look on his face. He’d never flirted openly or well before. The truth was he didn’t even know what he was doing, maybe Dick could figure it out.

Dick moved into Bruce's personal space. "Okay, then why do you want me to smile? Is it because we had a bad break up and you want to make sure we're okay, or are you trying to get me to think about a relationship again?"

“I like it when you smile,” Bruce faltered and pressed back against the counter. “I didn’t do it enough before.”

"I'm going to go change for dinner," Dick said as he backed up. "Maybe you can tell me why you want to make me smile over dinner."

“Wear the new black jeans,” Bruce coughed and then realized he was sounding like he was giving orders like he used, then added lamely, “Only if you want to that is… you just look good in them.”

Dick came back down fifteen minutes later wearing the black jeans Bruce had requested and a tight, white shirt. The whole time he was changing and waiting around upstairs he was trying to figure out how to get Bruce to talk. He knew Bruce liked to avoid telling people what was going on in his head, but he needed to know for sure what the man was thinking.

Bruce was looking at the pot of sauce and poking it cautiously with a spoon. “Alfred’s sauce has meat in it. Maybe I opened the wrong can.”

"I think he adds the meat to it," Dick said. He was taking down plates and setting the table in the kitchen while he talked. "Don't worry about it. Spaghetti is good without the meat too."

Bruce smiled as a memory came back to him, surround in the kitchen and things Alfred used every day. “Alfred used to let me eat spaghetti-O's in here.”

Dick let Bruce direct the conversation to innocuous topics as they ate and just enjoyed the meal and the conversation. He even insisted that he help Bruce clean up afterward. Once they were all done, he decided he'd given Bruce plenty of time to speak up over dinner and afterwards. "Okay, Bruce, dinner was great, but we still need to talk," he said.

“Oh…” Bruce faltered. “But we were talking.” He thought he’d been doing so well and didn’t want Dick to tell him to fuck off.

"We were, and it was nice," Dick said. He wasn't sure how to get through to Bruce. It was almost cute the way he was getting worried. "I like talking to you like this. We never did it enough before, but I meant what we were talking about when I got home."

“You don’t want me to flirt with you anymore,” Bruce said in a monotone voice and made sure no emotion showed on his face. He knew this was a mistake. He’d just made a fool of himself. “Are things getting serious with Robert?”

"Bruce, I just wanted to know if you were actually flirting with me. I just needed to know what was going on because I don't think I always do a good job at figuring out what you're thinking." Dick took a deep breath and looked away, trying to figure out how much to say. "Robert and I are not serious even though he wants to be. I told him from the start that I was not over my last boyfriend."

Bruce’s savage grip on the edge of the table loosened a bit. “Robert was good to you.”

"Yeah, he was. We have a good time together, but he's not what we're talking about right now. I'm trying to figure out if you're flirting with me because you want us to try again."

“I’m trying not to push,” Bruce muttered. “I’ll settle for just being your friend, Dick. I know I was an asshole.”

I'm willing to try again, Bruce, if it's what you want. You have to tell me what you're expecting from me though," Dick said.

“I don’t expect anything…” Bruce started, but when he Dick’s face fell, he quickly amended. “I mean, I just want whatever comes naturally. I want you to be yourself and I should love you for that. At this point, I’ll take whatever you can give me…”

"You know I'll give you everything," Dick said quietly. "But do you want a relationship? Friends that fuck? Partners that fuck? It didn't work last time because we expected different things."

“I’d like to be partners in everything,” Bruce answered him back, daring to look him straight in the eye. “Equals.”

"No more pretending you don't even know me in public? I don't care if we're out or not, but I won't go back to being totally ignored whenever anyone is around. If you do that to me again I won't come back," Dick said firmly. "So make sure you want to do this."

“Want me to take out a full page ad?” Bruce said, the side of his mouth twitching a bit.

"No," Dick answered with a slight grin of his own. "We skipped all this before and I think we should take it slower this time. If things work out and people find out that's cool, but I don't need you to tell people just to tell them. I really don't care if the rest of the world ever knows."

“They’d probably figure it out after you’ve lived with me after twenty years without getting married. Maybe by then, we actually can get married legally.”

"You want… I mean you think about us like that," Dick said in shock as stepped toward Bruce.

“Always thought about it that way,” Bruce scowled a little that Dick didn’t realize that. Maybe he should have said something sooner, even though he thought it was obvious.

"Oh, I always though it was just a thing that you were doing until I got boring or you found someone better," Dick said. "Never thought you'd want me around that long."

Bruce’s patented scowl deepened and he stepped towards Dick. “There’s no one better than you,” he growled. “And you’ll always belong to me.”

"I don't belong to you, Bruce. No matter how much I love you I'm still my own person," Dick said glaring back at him.

“You do,” Bruce huffed. “There’s no one else for me, Dick. I belong to you and you sure as hell belong to me.”

"Belong with you not to you," Dick said. "That's what happened before. You treated me like a possession not a friend and sure as hell not a lover. I'd be happy to belong with you though, Bruce."

“I belong to you, Dick,” Bruce growled again. “You’re my fucking obsession. I can’t stop thinking about you and the idea of you with someone else… I can’t handle it. I’m a possessive son of bitch. It’s who I am.”

Dick chuckled at that. "I never would have guessed from the way you've been spying on me and Robert. I had to distract him a few times to make sure he didn't see you. So," Dick drew the word out. "Do you want to go see a movie or something. We can pick something with enough violence that no one will think it's a date."

“Or we could go on a motorcycle together and make sure they do,” Bruce suggested wickedly. He knew Dick preferred to drive his own bike, but Bruce loved it when he pressed up behind him on the back of the motorcycle.

"If you're okay with that I won't argue," Dick said with a grin. "I just cleaned up the Ducati Supersport. I drive and you pick the movie?"

He was sure Dick was testing him. He’d never ridden on the back of the bike before, but really did small things like that matter when he was so close having Dick back in his life. “We could always see the ballet…”

"How'd we go from seeing a movie to watching dancers in tights?" Dick asked. "If you really want to though it fine by me."

“It was a joke,” Bruce said lamely. He never really had had a good sense of humour. “I’ll go to whatever movie you want.”

 

The night had gone really well. After the movie they had spent a few hours out as Batman and Robin and were just now heading to bed. When they got to Bruce's room, Dick pulled him down into a kiss, their first kiss all night. "Goodnight, Bruce," he whispered when they broke apart. "I had a really good time tonight. Thank you."

Bruce wanted nothing more than to pull Dick back into his room and fuck him, but he knew he had to practice restraint even though that wasn’t something he was known for. “What are you doing tomorrow evening?” he asked gruffly.

"I'm supposed to going to a club with Robert," Dick said quietly. "I shouldn't be out that late, but he's been really good to me and I want to stay friends with him. I'll tell him I'm officially off the market in person, before we go out."

Bruce forced one of his hands into a fist and pressed his fingernails into his flesh until it bled. It was the only way he could keep from shouting out that he wanted Dick to stay away from Robert or anyone else who might take him away. He had been planning on asking Dick if he wanted to attend the opening of a new club he had invested in, but now he new better than that. He would just keep the clothes Dick had picked out in the back of his closet and stay home.

“I hope you have a good evening. Good night, Dick,” Bruce said civilly and turned to go back into his room.

"You know you can come with us right?" Dick said grabbing Bruce's arm. "He's just a friend, Bruce. If I had wanted anything more I had plenty of time for that when we were barely talking to each other. If you don't want to come, I'll be home around 11 or 12."

“I actually have to make an appearance at a new investment I made,” Bruce decided that was as good an excuse as any. “I’ll just be a damper on your fun.”

 

The silence in the car was strained as Dick drove Robert to the new club they were going to check out. He hadn't taken the news that Dick was back with his old boyfriend, Bruce, too well. "Look man, if you don't want to go out with me I understand," Dick said right when they pulled up to the club.

“I’m going to go because we’re friends, Dick, but I really wish you would told me who exactly was your Ex,” Robert huffed. “Isn’t he your guardian?”

"Not really anymore. I am of age so that doesn't apply. Noting ever happened until well after I turned eighteen, and he didn't want people finding out about it," Dick said. "It's not like anyone else knew, other then Alfred."

“And if he treated you like shit before, then why are you getting back together with him?” Robert challenged. “Is he pressuring you? I always thought he was a little off.”

"I think he just realized some stuff. I had more dating experience then he did and he's figuring this out. He's really trying though," Dick said. "I know I didn't tell you who it was, but I was always upfront about there being someone."

“Yeah… well, it’s not like we did anything more than kiss,” Robert agreed. “I told you I met this cute guy at the beach right? He’s… nice. And I’ll give you this, your old man is kinda cute although it makes me wonder when you say you have more dating experience than him.”

Dick decided he really didn't want to continue the conversation so he hurried Robert out of the car and passed the keys to the valet. He was used to getting into club easily, but as soon as they got near the door a doorman came out to usher them inside.

One of the club owners came up to them shortly afterwards and whispered to Dick, “I was glad to hear you showed up, Mr. Grayson. I must say that Mr. Wayne… although his appearance at our grande opening is more than appreciated, he doesn’t seem to be enjoying himself. Maybe now that you’re here, you can do something.”

"Ummm," Dick turned to Robert. "Remember how I told you I'd invited Bruce to come with us but he had a business function? It was the opening of a new club owned by Wayne Industries."

“And let me guess,” Robert groaned and managed to pick out Bruce in the VIP section. “This just happens to be the new club. Who in the hell wears a black business suit to a club like this?”

"Where doesn't Bruce wear a black suit?" Dick said with a snicker. "Let's go say hello. Are you ready to be in the papers? I'm sure there are some reporters here and they are going to get your picture."

Robert grinned at Dick, “My mother will put it on the fridge. Hey, if Bruce is going to be going to some of these functions, someone really should get him some decent club clothes.”

"I'm working on that, but Bruce hasn't changed his style in… well in longer then I've known him. It's going to take some time, but I've at least got him buying nicer clothes now," Dick said as the walked over toward Bruce. "Hi, Bruce. Imagine seeing you here."

Bruce’s head snapped up from where he was taking to a very attractive red head. “She’s not a date,” he blurted out.

In spite of being upset about Dick being back with Bruce, Robert couldn't keep a grin off his face at Bruce's reaction. The poor guy looked like he was ready to sink into the floor just because he'd been talking to a woman. "Nice club, Bruce," he said as he reached for a handshake.

Bruce wasn’t all that happy that Robert had decided to stop calling him Mr. Wayne. “I thought Dick would like it,” Bruce said and shook Robert’s hand.

"We'll it is nice, and it has pretty good buzz going for it," Robert said looking around. "Either of you want anything to drink? I'm going to get a coke."

“No thanks,” Bruce and Dick said in unison. Bruce waited until Robert was gone before he asked. “So, do you like it?”

"Yeah, it's nice. You should have told me this was what you had to do tonight we could have all come together," Dick said. "Robert's being cool about things. He's not happy about it, but he knew what was going from the start."

“I really didn’t have to come here,” Bruce admitted. “I just thought if I had the night free, I could check out my investment.”

"Next time we come here are you going to wear your new clothes?" Dick asked as he moved closer to Bruce without looking like he was to close to be proper.

“We’re coming here again?” Bruce croaked and unconsciously fidgeted with his tie.

"We don't have to. I just thought you might like a chance to show off those new clothes. Hey, looks like Robert got picked up at the bar." Dick pointed at Robert out on the dance floor. Robert saw them looking and waved back.

“Would I get in trouble if I told you something?” Bruce asked, trying to change the subject.

"Probably not. I won't know until you tell me," Dick answered.

“What would you do if I bought shares in this club just so I could ask you to the opening?”

"Damn, Bruce, you should have said something. If I'd known what was going on I would have made sure we could have come together. Either way it's still kinda sweet," Dick said.

Bruce scowled lightly at Dick. “I’m not sweet.”

"I like sweet sometimes especially from you because I know you really mean it. I promise I won't tell anyone," Dick said in a whisper.

“I’m not a romantic,” Bruce warned and then leaned in closer to Dick. Who could blame him for that? After all, it was a loud club and it was hard to hear.

"Bruce, buying a club to take me to an opening is pretty romantic. In fact you've been pretty perfect this whole week," Dick said. "You should give yourself more credit."

“I can’t make up for month of treating you like shit in one week,” Bruce grumbled.

"You have," Dick said simply. "I'm just paying attention to here on out. By the way, how out we are is totally up to you, but you have to let me know what's okay."

“I’m not the one this will be hard on,” Bruce moved closer until the entire sides of their bodies were touching and whispered in his ear.

"Don't worry about me. It's not like I didn't hear it all through high school, and Robert and I have been pretty open," Dick said. "No one can say anything to make me regret this."

“I don’t dance…” Bruce said, but he still wanted to do something public to show Dick how he felt. He reached his out and slid it across Dick’s thigh to grab his hand. “But maybe I can do this?”

"That's fine. Maybe we can have some private dancing lessons at home sometime where I can properly motivate you," Dick said with a smirk. "Do you have to stand here all night or can we find someplace to sit down?"

“I can ballroom dance with the best of them,” Bruce corrected and pulled Dick towards an empty booth in the VIP section.

Dick chuckled and caught Robert’s eye, making sure he knew where they were. He knew Bruce could see the reporters watching them and making notes as the two of them went to sit down.

Bruce coughed lightly when Dick went to sit on the opposite side of the booth and patted the seat next to him. “You should sit next to me.”

Dick spent the next few hours sitting next to Bruce and talking. Robert came over every now and then to talk to them and even pulled him out onto the dance floor once. Dick used the restroom after the dance and when he got back to Bruce he was sitting there with a bewildered look on his face as he started at Robert on the dance floor. "What's up, Bruce?"

“Robert said I had better treat you right or he’ll kick my ass,” Bruce said.

"He'd probably try it too," Dick said as he slid into the booth next to Bruce. He was still flushed from dancing and full of energy. "So are you going to be a good boyfriend to save yourself from Robert's wrath?" Dick moved closer while he talked until he and Bruce were pressed together in the booth.

“I was thinking I would be a good boyfriend because…” Bruce actually stopped and gulped, lowering his voice when he said it. “Because… I love you.” This was actually the first time he’d said it, although a few times he had gotten away with saying ‘me too’ after Dick had said it to him in the past.

"I love you too," Dick said. He raised his hand to pull Bruce into a kiss then froze, waiting for a sign he could continue. At Bruce's nod, he finished pulling him into a kiss. He felt Bruce freeze up when the camera flashes started and made sure he was holding Bruce loosely in case he wanted to pull back.

Bruce had never been one for public displays of affection and it honestly wasn’t a great kiss, but in Dick’s book it was one of the best in their relationship. Bruce might be stiff, but he was kissing him back in public and in front of the press.

When they pulled away, Bruce muttered under his breath, “Goddamn vultures. Can’t get any privacy.”

"Doesn't matter," Dick said, ignoring the press and the club's patrons. "Wanna head someplace they can't follow?"


End file.
